Last December, the Champaign County Housing Authority announced their plan to build a new public housing project on a vacant lot near Turnberry Ridge. The lot was one of the few in the city approved for multifamily housing, being zoned for over 200 people. On Tuesday, local residents were given a chance to weigh in on the project at a council study session, and they were less than enthusiastic.

As Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez thought in grandiose terms, and his country's vast oil riches enabled him to act on his vision. But Chavez died before he had to deal with the flaws in his model, and some hard choices await his successor.